Investors Making Some Progress with Financial Crisis-Related Arbitration Claims
Barron's reports that U.S. investors have filed more securities arbitration claims in 2009 than in all of 2008. 4,991 claims have been filed thus far in 2009.
Mandatory arbitration--which prevents a case from going straight to court--is essentially the sole recourse for investors who feel they have been harmed by a broker or advisor.
The arbitration system is run by Finra, which serves as the self-regulation arm of the securities industry.
The overall success rate of securities arbitration claims has crept-up to 45% through August of this year:
While mandatory arbitration is currently the only option for investors who feel they have been harmed, Congress has been considering--largely in light of the financial crisis--eliminating the system and allowing cases to go straight to court.
Source: Barron's
